


Hold Me

by Amarynthia



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Black Hat is the obsessive master of the underworld, Dark Comedy, Flug is not amused, Hades and Persephone AU, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16145675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarynthia/pseuds/Amarynthia
Summary: Black Hat had constructed a perfectly good plan of capture and seduction. However, Dr. Flug is not so easily impressed by the dark king's amorous advances, all of it leading to rather interesting situations that simply baffle the mind, and sometimes even warm the heart.





	1. Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I am dedicating this chapter as a birthday gift to my wonderful friend and magnificent artist https://undergrounddweller89.tumblr.com/ I hope you like it, darling, sending many hugs and plushies!

The Master of Death and Darkness had been plagued with several problems. He had never been a patient fellow, especially when it came to courtship and amorous affairs, always expecting things to escalate in a short period of time.

Furthermore, his nerves were rather fragile and prone to breakdowns at the slightest hint of disobedience or inadequate business results. In addition, his heart had been so rudely stolen away, without any warning whatsoever, that he was on the brink of filing an official complaint to the object of his obsession. One might even consider it a love letter.

Soon enough, Black Hat realized that his concentration had been deteriorating to embarassingly low levels, and not a single business meeting with ghouls and demons went without him dreamily gazing into a framed picture of a certain Spring deity. None of them dared to comment, of course, since it would lead to Black Hat ripping their organs out, so they all pretended to be none the wiser.

As time passed, Black Hat's desire and need only grew, and they had infested his mind to the point where he no longer even found any joy in other activities. Not even the process of mutilating lost souls or barking commands at his underlings brought the same spark as before.

Poor old devil, one would almost pity him. Or not.

The King of the Underworld had then decided to construct a perfectly good plan of abduction to finally gain his sweet one in his presence. And, of course, this perfectly good plan was doomed to complete and total failure, considering the true nature of the Spring deity that he wished to capture.

Not to mention that the whole quest would cost quite a lot of magic, nerves, sleep, and it would spawn some very questionable social media posts in the Underworld that would need to be deleted afterwards.

Well, abduction just wasn't what it once had been, these modern days just ruin the fun of it, anyway.

At least one could say that in the case of trying to catch Flug Slys, we cannot say for others, though. And Black Hat had been fully aware of the fact that Flug was definitely not the usual Spring deity that one might expect and that it would take shrewd hunting techniques to properly break his resolve.

One is never certain what might occur when two concurring forces collide with one another. In most theories, they would cancel each other out, or fuse together into something yet unseen. In our particular tale, matters took a bit more of a complicated route.

Predators were quite often in danger of committing a crucial crime in the grand art of hunting. One always has to make sure that the prey is truly prey, not another creature using skillful mimicry to catch the initial predator.

Quite the conundrum, don't you think?

For instance, our tale contains the classical roles of predator and prey, the hunter and hunted. The difference being that the hunted was prepared to fully provide us with a lot of entertainment.

Fair warning, the following atrocities and adventures of these two lovers may cause a loss of sanity or unusual nightmares. Or merely excessive laughter.

One question remains to be answered: did the darkness fall in love and capture light? Or did the light simply lure the shadows into its trap, dooming the shadow to take whichever shape the light commanded?

Flug Slys had been gifted with untold power over the natural world, being able to manipulate the vegetation to his heart's desire, having the role to awaken Spring and bring lovely flowers, bountiful fields of crops and fertile trees. However, a part of him had another passion.

The science of chemistry and the biological components of Life fascinated him. He learned one could control so many aspects of nature without even needing to use magic, and as centuries had passed, he had awoken scientifc curiosity within all humans, encouraging them to pursue such wonderful studies.

He considered it as a noble and complex craft. Flowers sung to him in the soft glow of the Moon, revealing all of their properties to him through finely crafted glass that he would sharpen and shape with diamond dust.

He never feared neither Death nor Darkness.

Flug Slys represented the cold, cruel and calculated Light, serving to illuminate its victim to get a better view of it before dissecting it either verbally or physically. He was definitely a formidable enemy to the unsuspecting shadows that could desperately continue to consume him, but never extinguishing him.

He was a flower that bloomed beneath the stars, defying the Night with impressive fortitude. After all, Spring is the one that is destined to always defeat Winter in all battles since time immemorial.

And yet, Flug had not always been a merciful deity to those that humiliated or dared to question his authority and skills. His pride and intelligence mattered much to him, and he would never tolerate anybody taking it away from him.

For instance, at the moment he had been busy with eviscerating an arrogant mortal that had dared to insult him with unkind words. Flug took his time. He had been in no hurry and the victim was certainly not going anywhere. Unless we count the man's soul venturing to the Underworld after death.

Flug sipped on his coffee, smiling down on the completely mutilated man that he had been keeping alive with his powers of Life to make the fun last for as long as he pleased. It was very practical, using the most benevolent spells as instruments of sadistic delight. Flug giggled as he took a glance through his window, noticing something lurking in his gardens.

He tilted his head and he got up, opening the window and observing the silhouette that shamelessly glided along the flowers under the moonlight, all roses and orchids dying in its path. Flug frowned as he turned back to the terrified man.

“I need you to pretend to be a corpse for a few minutes and be quiet, I see that we may have another guest to join us. I don't want to scare him off. Come to think of it, maybe you won't have to strictly _pretend._ “

He took his gloves off and removed the blood-stained white coat.

“I hate the repercussions of doing things like this to you idiots. It is so tiring. Not to mention all the laundry I have to do afterwards.“

Truth be said, he never enjoyed violent deaths. He preferred toxic substances derived from flowers and plants.

He had been known as a tender murderer, delicate and dedicated, precise in his measuring and calculations, condemning his prey to death with a mere caress of a poisonous rose.

And that tenderness was exactly what made him so fascinating to the Lord of Death himself. When you send Death too many gifts, it is inevitable that it will take a liking to you. Especially if one uses the instruments of Life into condemning people to their demise. 

It takes a mere candle to light and spread its tiny particles throughout an entire sea of darkness, cutting through with its brilliant scalpels and blades, humiliating all of its efforts to capture it. Flug had always done exactly that in all his centuries of battling Winter.

As Flug got out of his little mansion and into the vast garden, his eyes narrowed upon seeing it completely devastated and ravaged by disease and shadows. He growled as he walked through his precious blossoms, touching their petals and feeling them crumble as if they were charred paper.

Oh, he was furious.

Although, Flug had noticed an odd distortion in his perspective, his vision lacking the usual clarity one expects when observing one's surroundings. Moonlight fell at odd angles, light breaking and presenting itself in unnatural colours, adding a sudden ghostly appearance to the garden, before the dead flowers beneath him acquired the appearance of a black sea that he fell into within seconds. He gasped for air and made a girly scream as demonic hands began to appear around him, reaching and seemingly wishing to drown him.

The air had been crisp and he definitely should have felt the sting of the cold, although none came, ghoulish apparitions were scattered in the sky, gliding and teasing him with their glowing sharp-toothed smiles.

An ominous chuckle was heard, followed by a deep gravelly voice speaking:

“It appears as if you lost all of your thorns to protect yourself with, little flower. You cannot defy the night forever, after all. I can feel that delightful tremble, and your heart sings to me in its terror. Is my brave one so frightened?“

Pettiness was a rather awful thing, especially in Flug's case. He groaned in irritation as he attempted to free himself, his mind still barely able to focus in his fear and panic as he tried to keep his head above the black water.

“Absolutely damn terrified! I cannot even think of a sarcastic comment over all the shock!“

“My, such a great shame. How shall I ever endure this unfortunate lack of your venomous wit?“

A shadowy hand reached to caress Flug's cheek in a morbidly affectionate way, making Flug wince.

“You know, whoever you are, you could have simply bought me a drink or something first…“

“Insignificant formalites that I have no time for.“

Monsters barely had any manners left, by the look of it.

“What do you want?!“

“You.“

“I am still waiting for you to buy me that drink, though. So, you're the maniac that has been playing in the corners of my field of vision all this time? You got to step up your game, dude, this way you will never get laid. Sorry, can't help you.“

“Oh, you were aware this whole time?“

Flug noticed that the hands stopped grabbing at him and he could normally float in the dark sea, giggling as he mumbled to himself:

“Poor devil, he actually thinks he was subtle….“

He then looked into the gathering shadows around him, still trying to remain calm.

“I didn't have the heart to reveal that you were being obvious as shit out there, might have hurt your feelings.“

Suddenly, all of the demonic hands transformed into thick black tentacles and they wrapped around him, holding him tightly in place as the voice whispered in his ear:

“You shall wake up from this dream in approximately twenty seconds, and before you do, mark my words that before Winter comes, your sweet heart shall be mine to take, mine to devour, and all of your little tricks combined won't be able to save you. I cannot guarantee that the hunt will be gentle, and don't be shocked if I pluck your petals one by one to get you. Have a pleasant morning, sweet flower.“

Flug had certainly not hoped that the entire thing would be a mere dream made to tease and mess with his sanity. He had woken up in a rather odd position, half-hanging with his upper body from his bed, while his pet bear napped cutely on the cushions, yawning and rolling on its other side.

As Flug attempted to get fully back on the bed, he gasped as he looked over at the opposite wall, his heart sinking upon beholding a black rose painted in great detail on it, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw a glowing grin with sharp teeth appearing right in the middle of it.


	2. Complicated Courtship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat attempts to bring macabre delights to his beloved. Flug simply wishes to have a proper sleeping pattern again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, second chapter!

The hunt itself had delicate beginnings, disguising itself into gentle courtship.

It had started with playful shadows reaching to hold his hand, or cover him with soft blankets whenever he fell asleep at his desk, dark clouds following him whenever he visited the many flower fields he had in his possession, roses turning ebony around him whenever he lied down in the soft grass to rest.

Each night, invisible feathers would caress his cheeks and neck in the final seconds before falling asleep. Tenebrous silhouettes had always been present beneath his windows, melodious and dulcet violin tunes being produced by an unknown Maestro being played in the distance.

However, Flug remained skeptical and relatively annoyed by the many gestures and gifts left to him by his new potential lover, his common sense warning him to never accept the offerings of a being that reigned over the most tenebrous aspects of mortal existence.

He refused the sweet kisses that the shadows wished to place upon his hand or his lips, and he avoided the warmth that had been offered to him night after night.

Black Hat had been a very perseverant man in his endeavours and would not let himself be discouraged or humiliated by Flug's refusal.

One evening, after Flug had returned from his daily duties of securing the fertility of his fields and crops, as well as making sure that the mortals of the realm remained respectful, he found a peculiar thing in his room.

Black Hat' silhouette was gliding along the walls as it usually did, glowing eyes opening to greet the Spring deity. 

“Greetings, little flower.“

“It's Flug.“

“Flower.“

“Flug.“

“Flower.“

“Do you mind?!“

“Hmmmm?“

“Is _this_ supposed to be a declaration of love?“

“Oh, how kind of you to notice.“

“I am not going to tolerate this anymore, so kindly get the hell out of my house before I really start hitting back in ways that you would never imagine!“

He threw a nearby book at the shadow on the wall to prove his point. The silhouette merely grinned back at him, glowing eyes narrowing in both curiosity and playful desire.

ʺMy love for you flows to the sea of bitter tears and unspoken curses.ʺ

“The fuck are you talking about, man?!“

“Ohhh, I believe your last sentence contains a very interesting word that mildly reveals my intentions.“

“I do not have enough alcohol with me to deal with this conversation. Not to mention that I cannot even begin to describe how pissed off I am right now.“

The shadow's raspy voice cackled and merely floated upwards to the ceiling area, before it cast a spell to reanimate all of the intricate drawings that it had preciously made along the walls for Flug's enjoyment.

Flug raised an eyebrow at the dark silhouette that was acting as if it were completely innocent, taking its top hat off and making a very polite and elegant bow.

“I am very glad to hear that you cannot describe it, for I was not in the mood for listening to that description in the first place, little flower.“ Flug only made a pout.

He went over to his desk and placed his coffee cup on it.

Coffee was a wonderful thing. There were always so many possibilities when it came to its preparation, either from pure bitterness to sweetness. It sharpened the mind and strengthened the spirit. Or it proved itself as a worthy companion in the mad sleepless hours of despair when a random madman refused to leave the damn house.

“Don't you have something productive to do in that hell hole you came from? I bet your armies of the undead are not quite happy with you chilling around here.“

“Nothing compares to the many things I still have to do up here, little flower.“

“It's Flug, for fuck's sake.“

He glared at the apparition with the most fearful expression he could muster, only earning a smirk from Black Hat's shadow. It mocked him.

“Dramatic gasp! What ever shall I do now?“

Flug went back to sipping his coffee and making notes in his journals, writing a list of all the important tasks that awaited him in the morning. He had been purposefully ignoring Black Hat's grumpy whines and noises that clearly only served the purpose of getting the Spring deity's attention.

Therefore, Black Hat had decided to throw a little show of fireworks above Flug's head, making the prettiest dark red and blue sparks fall down upon him, some of them igniting  pretty much the entire journal and burning away the words Flug had previously written.

Furious, Flug had gotten up and wished to punch the entity, stopping himself only upon realizing that there wasn't much point in punching a shadow.

He took a deep breath and decided to merely observe the giant black rose drawing on the wall. It had been fairly intricately done, great passion was obviously placed into the living art that now resided in his room as if it were yet another companion.

The drawing was almost sentient, perfectly reacting to any outward stimulation. The breeze coming from an open window made the flower sway as if it were truly real and not a mere reproduction on a flat surface.

Thorns and vines grew and writhed as the magical painting kept spreading along the walls, inky rose petals scattering in an impossible fashion as Flug paced along his room, almost as if they were following his movement.

Taking off his glove, he came closer, reaching with his hand, gently tracing the patterns with his fingers.

Black Hat's voice was gently whispering in his ear.

“They say that the he Sun had loved the Moon with such ardour…“

“You are not the Sun, though.“

“Don't ruin the moment, Flug.“

“Whatever.“

“Rude boy…“

“I know the story already. The Sun loved the Moon so much that it died each day for her to play in the kingdom of the sky. And only in the moments of dusk and dawn could the Sun gaze upon the Moon approaching, sinking into the horizon as she rose to take the Sun's throne.“

“I am offering you to rule my kingdom with me, Flug.“

Nobody was immune to irrational fears. It was possible to conquer fear by rationalizing it and finding its roots, but the body doesnʼt care about the conclusions the mind had made. It would take a huge amount of concentration to still your beating heart, to make your lungs stop begging for more oxygen, to stop blood from leaving the extremities and the stomach. Fear is one of the few of our characteristics that completely reminded us of our mortality.

For Flug, his greatest fear was the possibility of being enticed by false promises, only to be abandoned and humiliated later.

Irrelevant shadows, deceitful apparitions, temporary infatuation, he considered it all a mere trick made by a sadistic demon out of pure boredom.

Flug frowned, grateful that his bag concealed any gathering tears in his eyes.

“Pretty lies, nothing more.“

The black rose flower did not take the comment well and the petal drawings suddenly disappeared from beneath Flug's touch.

Black Hat didn't take the words kindly, either, as he suddenly disappeared from Flug's room, hurt by the Spring deity's opinion.

Lightning suddenly shredded the dark sky ominously, acting as the grim messenger of the Master from below.

Black Hat's devious mind was definitely determined to return each second of suffering tenfold, he had decided to tear Flug completely apart if it was needed to achieve his goal. The shadowy king would never sacrifice his own dignity in the name of love.

He had sent a downpour of rain that spoke in whispers as it fell, causing reactions of pure horror among the general population of Flug's domain. Days passed as Black Hat's terror reigned upon the land, doing all in his power to show his wrath to Flug, eager to destroy all that the Spring deity held dear, until there was nothing left for him but to crawl with apologies.

Black Hat would cackle in the night like a complete lunatic simply to keep Flug alert and disturbungly paranoid about the whole situation, where all lines between dream and reality were slowly distorted beyond any recognition.

Tricks with mirrors were particularly hilarious, along with hallucinations that he could induce for Flug to endure. Needless to say that the Spring deity was not thrilled about the arrangement.

Objects would follow him around the house, while one evening several ghouls casually made a little tea party in his kitchen. It was a rather humourous scene when Flug had opened his front door one morning, only to find several revived corpses that were having a brief cigarette break on his front porch. They had given him a casual thumbs up, while he returned with an awkward wave.

It was even more interesting as he entered the dining room once and found 505 playing a poker game with several demons wearing Metallica shirts. Apparently 505 had been winning for the last five rounds and he made proud bear noises as he showed Flug the car keys of a brand new Underworld Rolls Royce.

The house was drowning in chaos little by little.

Disturbing illustrations and incoherent words were covering the floral wallpaper, broken glass shattering all over the floor, merry bonfires swallowing all his high-tech paraphernalia.

It was safe to say that Flug was getting a tad bit angry.

He would definitely pout and stand with his arms crossed over his chest whenever his laboratory instruments would float around, coffee mugs coming alive and dancing all around the kitchen, while all of his colourful flowers seemed to have assumed a darker tint.

Goblins had hacked into all of his computers and seized his entire collection of passwords, not to mention the fact that they made quite a large shopping list on his Amazon account. Phantasms seemed to have taken a liking to his Soul Eater posters and they shamelessly proceeded to attempt to steal them. They were not aware of the highly dangerous magical security system that Flug had previously installed to protect them. The same magical security system that he didn't install to protect the house itself in the first place. Priorities, of course.

At least the desired effect was achieved and they never tried stealing the posters again.

During a particularly harsh tempest that had ravaged the entire landscape with whirlwinds and floods, Flug had decided to confront the malevolent entity and give him a fine piece of his mind regarding all the ruckus he had been causing.

The Master of Death was sitting in a lovely little gazebo, protected from the rain and surrounded by a myriad of black roses. He was pouring tea, patiently waiting for his beloved to come and to scream insults at him. He was rather excited about the prospect of Flug seeing him for the first time in full form and not simply a mere shadow.

His eyes glowed with sulphurous lust as he noticed that the Spring deity had teleported in front of him, furious.

“Oh, hello, there, little flower. You come here often, hmmm?“

“Only when there are ghouls tearing my living room apart, while I am getting wasted with whiskey and drowning my depression in honey pancakes.“

“Fair enough.“

“You stole the sunlight.“

“I did.“

“I cannot even fight these dark spells you cast!“

“Of course you can't.“

“Make the clouds go away, Black Hat, you will destroy my lands!“

He graced him with a teasing grin and a curious glint in his visible eye.

“And what will you do for me in return?“

“Do you hear that?“

“What?“

“That is the sound of my nervous system collapsing.“

“Tick-tock, little flower, your sassy comments will not save your lands, you know. I won't do anything to you or claim you, yet, I simply wish to be on civilized terms with you for the time being. Can we do that?“

Flug simply stared at him in defiance for several moments, before he simply sighed and came closer to Black Hat, showing that he was ready to negotiate. Black Hat grinned as he pulled the young man to sit on his lap, deep purrs suddenly coming from the dark king. He leaned to kiss the soft flesh of Flug's neck, loving the little whimper he was rewarded with.

“Now…tea?“


	3. Sultry Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat is being a masterful romantic. Flug is masterfully ignoring him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I loved making this one a lot, and I shall make a double update for both Mine and Hold Me this Friday.

Tea parties were a delightful affair, peaceful, tranquil, often entailing friendly conversations and maybe even some gossipping. Perhaps even exchanging nice recipes for cookies and offering cute compliments. However, our particular tea party case was slightly deviating from the general norm. Just a tiny bit. Nothing worth calling the ambulance for.

Flug was pouting and refusing to remove his bag, nor did he wish to open his mouth to taste the cookies that Black Hat had been trying to feed him with. Black Hat did not take this gesture kindly. He made a low growl, the deep vibration coming from his throat and chest somehow making it thunder in the sky, as well.

Flug groaned and finally grabbed the cookie himself and began to munch on it angrily. After a few seconds he had decided that the cookie was actually quite delicious, so he demanded:

“I want more now.“

“Oh, my, really? Three seconds ago you were refusing them.“

“Well, I changed my mind. Hand me more cookies, please.“

“It will cost you one kiss.“

“You are charging me now?“

“Indeed I am. Consider it as a type of compensation for your previous rude behaviour regarding all my generous gifts.“

Before Black Hat could continue gloating, he felt a quick smooch being placed on his cheek, and Flug was already devouring the rest of the cookies as if nothing even happened.

Black Hat narrowed his eyes at the lad, while Flug nonchalantly commented:

“You never specified what type of kiss you wanted, so I improvised.“

“Cruel flower, you carve the hymn of sadness into my rotten heart with your refusal of my love.“

“I bet you are a real delight to listen to when you get dumped.“

“You are being quite the little comedian now, aren't you?“

“Yes, I kinda tend to do that to morons that cast spells to make my microwave oven blast Ariana Grande songs at midnight. Nothing personal, though.“

“It was merely a way of gaining your attention and to throw you into a state of chronic sleep deprivation.“

“How romantic.“

“I know! And yet, you barely even appreciate my efforts.“

“Yes, I must be blind or something.“

“That explains the unfashionable goggles. We really need to do something about your abysmal choice in attire.“

Flug was most certainly not pleased with the development of the conversation, so he casually took a deep breath, before slightly adjusting his position and landing a hard punch right into Black Hat's face, effectively cracking his monocle.

“Oh, my, look at that, sir, having glass shards in your eyes is a bit unfashionable, as well.“

To Flug's horror, his little outburst was only met with a disturbing cackle from his captor. Black Hat was holding his hand to his injured eye, green fire appearing over his face, before the magic spell returned everything back to normal, as if nothing ever happened.

“Try hitting harder next time, it might even impress me.“

“You…that…you know what, screw you. Everything is just a game to you.“

“It wards off boredom, after all, and make reality a tiny bit more bearable.“

Flug groaned tiredly and decided it was futile to argue with Black hat. He then reached into his pocket for his phone in order to check the time, knowing that 505 would definitely be worried for him being gone from the house for so long. The tempest was no longer raging as before, but it was still of considerable intensity.

As he inspected the screen, he felt something long and soft slither along his waist and around his thighs and calves, squeezing him and giving massages. He made a pout.

“Move it, or lose it, buddy.“

“Hmmm? I am not doing anything.“

Black Hat made an innocent little smile at him, while another dark tentacle was gently caressing around Flug's abdomen and slowly moving its way lower and lower. Flug squeaked in shock and indignation.

“Hey, excuse me! I am a well respected scientist and a Spring deity, I refuse to let myself be handled this way!“

“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Flug.“

Another mockingly warm smile was given, and Black Hat only kept nuzzling him, placing tiny kisses onto whichever surface he could.

“Black Hat!“

“There you are again with your accusations! I believe you are seeing things, I am most certainly not even touching you.“

“You…you're literally…you're just trying to piss me off, is that it?!“

“Trying? I am barely even making a serious attempt and you are already having a little tantrum over there. Your fury is a wonderful thing to witness.“

Flug gritted his teeth, deciding to completely give him the silent treatment and he began fiddling with his phone to avert his attention to something productive. No such luck, of course. Black Hat playfully placed his head on Flug's shoulder, inspecting what the Spring deity was doing.

“What are you up to?“

“Nothing.“

“Liar.“

Flug raised an eyebrow at Black Hat's ridiculous behaviour and he retorted:

“Alright, you caught me. I am trying to google how to write “help, I have been kidnapped by a touch-starved psycho idiot“ into Morse code. You never know when such information may come in handy.“

“Is this the part where I am supposed to be insulted?“

“You will have to check the script.“

Black Hat's laughter roared through the lands, causing several deluges in five different locations and another little seismic catastrophe. One may wonder if such things may lead to a creation of a new continent eventually. Black Hat reached with his hand towards the table and picked up a plate full of treats.

“May I offer you some scrumptious pomegranate seed tartes?“

“Yes, those don't look suspicious at all.“

“You dare to question my honour?“

“No, I am denying it altogether. Alright, this is stupid, we can at least start using some proper conversation topics like civilized adults. So, uh…how is business going?“

Black Hat suddenly changed his sitting position into that of a very serious and terrifying monarch that had no time for jests. Consequently, Flug managed to unceremoniously slide down his lap and fell right on the ground.

“Ouch! Rude, much?!“

“Business is flourishing, thank you. Blooming, one may say. Growing on fertile soil.“

“One more flower reference and I am going to throw myself in that ditch over there by the river.“

“Say hello to the frogs for me, then. Tell them that they still owe me poker money.“

Black Hat glanced at the magnificent display of lightning on the distant horizon, reaching for his pocket and extracting a dark little box. Gloved fingers made an elegant gesture to summon green fire, then he swiftly lit the cigar he had previously taken out of its container. Elegant tendrils of smoke undulated in the air as he took a drag.

In those brief moments, something very specific had captured Flug's attention. The very glimpse of smaragdine fire managed to awake a great curiosity in the scientist's mind, and he could not avert his gaze from Black Hat's gestures. Flug made a tiny whimper at the flames disappearing as soon as Black Hat lit his cigar.

The eldritch noticed Flug staring at him and he gave him a playfuly wave.

“Do you see something you like? One may proclaim that I am quite the catch.“

Flug shook himself from his reverie and groaned as he went to sit on a nearby chair.

“Catching you is like catching a disease.“

The monster swiftly replied:

“Virulent diseases tend to be like that, don't they? Masterfully manipulating their way into your unsuspecting veins, their only purpose being to ravage your insides and spread themselves until their core becomes one with your own, until you yourself transform into whatever they desire.“

“You speak of such horrid things as if they bore a trace of beauty.“

“Do they not?“

“No.“

Black Hat made a wolfish grin at his prey and leaned closer on the table, exhaling smoke and commanding it to take the shape of a large rose.

“You were almost in a trance at the sight of my fire.“

“So? It's pretty and nice to look at, anybody would like it.“

“I happen to know that you have a preferred colour.“

“Oh?“

“And that is precisely how I know that we have one very special thing in common, Flug Slys.“

“Just enlighten me already.“

Black Hat made the cigar dissolve into shadows, before he brought his cupped hands together, blowing smoke gently onto them and suddenly a dark golden substance appeared in them. Flug raised both eyebrows in surprise, while Black Hat whispered gently:

“We both appreciate the immensely magical sight of burning sulphur.“

The wind had calmed abruptly, blowing with such delicacy, as if it was reluctant to disturb such a sight. The dark masterful magician conjured flames upon sulphur, allowing it to release all of its hidden splendour, and they both observed the marvellous sight of azure and deep indigo mist that emerged from the pyre. Flug held his breath and felt his heart race, warmth coursing through him, unexplainable bliss overtaking him. He heard Black Hat's voice:

“One always expects some hellish abominations in such a chemical reaction, fierce and proud hues of strong orange and red. And yet, sulphur burns in the prettiest blue hues a man could ever imagine. Deep, shadowy, glowing blue, as if created by softly spoken spells from a forgotten time.“

Flug looked up into the demon's eyes, and moments passed as they merely looked into each other, not noticing the smoke above their heads forming into more rose shapes. Black Hat tilted his head a bit, smirking.

“You wish to say something, little flower?“

“You know, it's somewhat nice…knowing that both magic and science can give these flames so many different colours. Is this where the real and surreal met together?“

“Chemistry and alchemy had always been great lovers, after all.“

Flug kept looking at him, perplexed and in slight shock, before he took off his bag and smiled.

“Yeah. I guess they were.“


	4. Capricious Contrast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat admires the skills of his beloved. Flug is a master of concentration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy, another chapter! I couldn't post last night as promised, since a friend invited me to go see Venom, so I am doing this today. The new Mine chapter should be soon, too.

Art had always been a fascinating manifestation of imagination. It served as a great way of demonstrating skill, passion, the talents of observation and the play of perspective and reality. A blank canvas would whisper to the eager creator, telling tales of infinite possibilites, it would sing of many colours and lines that were waiting for their special chosen person to finally give them shape and life.

Flug had become very curious regarding that particular noble craft ever since Black Hat had so rudely installed living art on the walls of his room, forever moving, sentient, perfectly alive. The painted black rose was a strange thing, indeed, with no defined texture, and yet so vivid and palpable.

The young scientist would often gently exhale in the direction of the petals, surprised to see them perfectly react to the movement of air, but whenever he would press his hand against the wall, he would feel it as if it were any other normal painted flower.

Deciding that having one single large rose on the wall was probably making it a bit lonely, Flug had decided to haul up several boxes into his room, all of them containing the needed tools and colours he would use. Flug was not certain what type of flower he wished to paint, but he was certain that it had to be something to present itself as a good contrast to the black rose.

He tilted his head, unsure whether he had gone slightly mad or if he simply needed another creative outlet.

“Alrighty, then! Lemme see, which little friend I should make for you…“

He perused several books until he chose the perfect flower, one that was beautifully bright in colour, and yet also associated with death.

“We'll make you a nice little marigold. How does that sound, hmm? You two can have plenty of fun together…er…gossipping or whatever flowers do when nobody is looking.“

Flug had not been aware of the Master of the Underworld secretly scrutinizing him from a shadowy corner in the room, for he had effectively disguised himself as a spider. Constructing a web was rather fun, and Black Hat was now lazily lounging in it, waiting to see what Flug would do.

The Spring deity was very adorable when he was not vivisecting people.

505 peeked his head through the door before entering, wishing to see what his creator was up to, as well.

Flug smiled at his sweet bear son and he began to prepare his brushes and the tempera paint. He spoke to both the bear and the black rose, while they curiously listened to his words. We must not forget the cunning spider intruder, either.

“There is a specific reason why I chose the marigold flower, since it has a great cultural significance within…“

“Why aren't you using acrylic paint, instead?“

Flug's eye twitched upon hearing the gravelly raspy voice and her turned around, ready to smack Black Hat on the head, only to find that there was nobody there. The spider, of course, was snickering at the fact that Flug had no idea what was going on, since he couldn't see him.

“Where are you hiding?!“

“I am everywhere.“

“I know you're in here, though.“

“It is just my spiritual projection.“

“You just have to be an asshole for the heck of it, don't you?“

“Why, you injure me with your words, Flug! I am merely here to listen to your stories and participate in these cute games.“

“Man, when I find where you're hiding, I am so going to give you what you deserve.“

“Splendid! I am perfectly aware that I deserve only the best, so I am looking forward to what you have prepared for me, little flower.“

Flug groaned, continuing with his task.

“As I was saying, in spite of their light, cheerful and sunny appearance, these flowers have a particular role in the _Día de Muertos_ festivites. Precisely because of their golden and warm appearance, it is believed that they are able to serve as guides for the spirits, helping them find and visit their graves where their loved ones had left food and drinks for them. I find this very lovely and endearing.“

He smiled under his bag as he kept painting, using various brushes to vary the intensity and shape, and bit by bit, his marigold was coming to existence. The overlapping petals, the leaves, all of it coming together beautifully.

“The specific marigold I speak of is the _Tagetes erecta,_ also known as the Mexican or Aztec marigold.“

His eye twitched as he heard yet another little cackle from behind.

“My, my, my, such an optimistic view of death you have, little flower.“

“Give me a few minutes and I will show you just how optimistic I am about strangling you.“

“Oh, kinky, aren't we?“

“You are starting to get on my last nerve, Black Hat.“

“I know, and I am enjoying every second of it.“

Inhale. Exhale. He would not allow himself to be provoked any further and he kept concentrating on his endeavour, speaking as if in a trance, pouring his magic of Spring and Nature into the little nascent masterpiece before him.

Nothing existed within this perfect moment in the present, where his leading star and main goal was the marigold and nothing else.

Flug had not realized that his gloved hands had begun to glow a vibrant golden colour, as if he had sunlight trapped within each hand, the brush movements going from delicate to frantic, returning to a slow glide, continuing into quick little movements, details being rendered perfectly.

As he painted, the golden magic had intertwined itself with the paint, connecting with the flower and blessing it with enchantments that gave it the same properties of the magical black rose. Flug took a deep breath as he observed his new creation, and 505 seemed stunned with it, as well. The black rose itself seemed to be almost enamoured with its new marigold companion, the darker painted flower gently extending its petals towards the golden beauty.

Black Hat's eyes widened, the amazement almost making him reveal himself from his hiding place, and he felt his dark rotten heart gather warmth. The immense pride and admiration were ovewhelming him.

Before Black Hat realized what was happening, he suddenly felt his little spider body being splashed with an entire bucket of paint. He quickly transformed back into his normal self, screaming in a demonic voice:

“FLUG.“

The scientist was standing right in front of him, adjusting a few buttons on the side of his goggles, smirking under his bag at Black Hat's rage and confusion.

“You think I wear these goggles to make a fashion statement? They do have night vision and can see through spells and obstacles, I just didn't bother to use them when I was busy painting.“

Black Hat was about to cause some grave injuries to the scientist, but Flug gestured for him to stop for a moment and he pointed over at the black rose and the marigold, as they appeared to be cuddling together.

“Aren't they adorable? They love each other already.“

Black Hat blinked at the painted flowers as they made little cooing noises at each other. He then grinned and placed his hand around Flug's waist, pulling him closer.

“Hey!“

Before Flug could complain or escape, dark lips were pressed to his own, demanding, eager, kissing him with great ardour and desire. Little by little, Flug made adorable moans and he happily began to kiss him back. 


	5. Delightful Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serious conversations inevitably end up with mad frolics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, yay! Also, I am dedicating this new chapter to my dearest Nekophy, who made me the best birthday gift ever: amazingly beautiful art for this fic http://nekophy.tumblr.com/tagged/hades-persephone-au and I am still screaming how beautiful it is, thank you, my darling!!!!!!!

Temptation manifests in many forms, it appears to us in our most desperate times, and entices us with the most ludicrous of promises. However, one may find that the path of darkness sometimes brings more joy than the long and lonely walks in the unforgiving light.

And, goodness, Black Hat was tempting Flug as if there were no tomorrow.

Tempting him with gifts, with caresses, soothing words spoken in his dark gravelly voice, various suspiciously made beverages and pomegranate treats. The Spring deity was trying his hardest not to start regretting the kiss they had shared.

Although, Flug was having many dilemmas regarding his recent “guest“. Black Hat had been quite the handful to deal with. Masters of Darkness were not very easy to accommodate in general, especially with their cranky needs, their tendency to have outbursts of unbridled rage and bloodthirst, not to mention their habit to leave mangled corpses all over the expensive carpet after done feasting on them.

The stains were impossible to deal with. The cleaning bills were more frightening than entire armies of the living dead.

On other, less dramatic, occasions, Black Hat would crawl along the ceiling and emit disturbing noises and sickening sounds that only a mad beast would make on its deathbed. Flug had learned that this type of behaviour was a clear indicator that Black Hat needed a nap and maybe even some chocolate cookies.

Or whiskey.

Either way, the results were always immediate.

One day, Flug had decided to test the waters and attempt at making a proper serious conversation with the dark entity. He did everything by the protocol: he prepared sufficient bribe and a lot of fresh poison that Black Hat was so fond of drinking.

He sat down next to him on the plush sofa and cleared his throat.

“We need to set up a few boundaries and rules in this…cohabitation.“

“No we don't. My terms were that you either obey me or I ravage your lands. Now move it, I am trying to have my afternoon relaxation.“

 “But…“

“Must I repeat myself?“

“This is hardly healthy!“

“So is your sleeping schedule, Flug. Get lost.“

“No!“

Black Hat raised an eyebrow at this sudden outburst of defiance and his visible eye glowed a deep burgundy as he spoke in a layered voice:

“I AM GIVING YOU THREE SECONDS.“

“Well, fuck you and your three seconds!“

Black Hat instinctively unsheathed a claw, ripping through his glove, and wrapped his hand firmly around Flug's throat, squeezing tightly. Flug did not take the whole thing well, as he struggled to release himself.

As expected, such endeavours barely yielded any result.

Witty and relatively insane as he was, Flug had decided to use a bit of a different approach. He reached with one hand over to the bottle on the coffee table, and effectively smashed it over Black Hat's head, earning a bit of a surprise from the demon, which gave him enough time to pounce on Black Hat and commence hitting him with a pink heart-shaped cushion.

“Why can't you hold a single mature conversation?!“

Before Black Hat could reply with an acidic retort, Flug began to press the cushion firmly into the dark god's face.

“I just wanted us to give some fucking definition to our relationship in peace! Can't we just act like civilized people for five minutes?! This is why the neighbours keep gossipping!“

Sharp green teeth ripped right through the cushion, strong hands grabbing Flug's forearms and Black Hat flipped them both over on the floor, knocking over both the coffee table and all of its contents.

Black Hat pinned Flug down on the soft carpet, holding his wrists above his head, mad with lust and unbridled ire. The lad would not surrender so easily, and he wrapped his legs around Black Hat's middle, trying to make them both roll over in order to gain the upper hand over Black Hat again. Of course, the whole plan was a bit of an embarassing failure, and the only thing it accomplished was making them both appear to be in a compromising position.

505 was just about to enter the room with a plate of freshly made chocolate-flavoured cookies, but as soon as he saw the rather problematic scene between the two idiots, he made haste to turn around and make his way back to the kitchen. The bear noises coming from him had the simple translation of “nope, nope, oh, hell no.“

There was simply no point in entering a lover's quarrell where one might lose a kidney or two.

“Let go of me!“

“You know, Doctor, I actually feel rather comfortable here. It is very warm. Also, you are the one with your legs so lewdly wrapped around me.“

“I'll release you when you release me!“

“Well, I suppose we will be stuck like this for several millennia. You could have at least prepared some newspapers for me to read to kill time. Although, I have a far better option of what we could do…“

Flug winced as he felt Black Hat place kisses along his neck, biting harshly into the soft pale flesh to mark him as his own.

“Well, excuse you! You could at least ask permission first!“

“Hmmmm?“

“This is an unauthorized love bite!“

“I really need to start tying you up and gagging you in these situations, it will save me a lot of trouble.“

Shadowy tendrils and tentacles came forth, eager to enjoy the feast that their master was offering to them, wishing to touch and enjoy all the warmth they could get from Flug's lithe form.

They slithered under his shirt, many of them growing additional mouths and nibbling along his skin, placing licks and more kisses, giving him all the pleasure they could.

Black Hat observed Flug's reactions with ravenous hunger, pulling off his bag, brushing his dark thin lips against the soft pink ones before capturing them in a deep kiss, growling possessively as he laid claim to him.

It was a delectable sin, Life and Death entwined, both literally and figuratively, as it had always been since the very existence of Time. White coat was thrown away along with the black coat, light and shadow baring themselves in front of each other, one only existing in the presence of the other, completing each other in ways that truly showed the most harmonious discord of Nature.

Electric tingles travelled along Flug's spine as he allowed Black Hat have his way with him, his moans and mewling betraying him, pride banished and forgotten.

“I must say, little flower, this method is very effective on you.“

“Shut up and keep kissing me, you idiot, I will insult you later for this. I am serious, this is not over, we are merely just…taking out our frustrations or whatever the hell we can call this.“

“Maybe you should write a reminder for yourself about that in that little journal of yours.“

“Yes, well, the journal is in the pocket of my trousers and my trousers are somewhere on the other end of the room.“

Black Hat merely cackled and leaned over to offer a thousand more kisses to his captive, a thousand more caresses and countless torments that made the poor Spring deity scream for more all night long.


End file.
